Skyway's 'Black Panther Park' Grows From Food Justice to Freedom Art

Construction for a new community park in Skyway honoring Seattle's Black Panther Party is underway and expected to conclude by spring 2026. Located at the corner of 75 Avenue South and Renton Avenue South, the unofficially named Black Panther Park will showcase art designed by local artists such as Ari Glass, double as a community garden and herb pantry, and serve as a cultural incubator and communal space for Skyway residents of all generations.

"It's a you-pick-a-fruit spot — fruit, herbs, everything," said Jake Harris, owner of Stone Soup Gardens, a residential design and installation company. In addition to community-based projects like neighborhood gardens, Stone Soup Gardens has partnered with schools, businesses, and private residents to develop rain gardens, cisterns, raised vegetable beds, patios, chicken coops, and more.

"When we first identified this space and were working with community here, they wanted a food space. And when we said, 'Hey, this park doesn't have a name. Who could we name it after?' That's when Black Panther Park emerged," explained Harris. "Folks were like, 'Well, free food — they started the National Breakfast Program,' and so that kind of just launched the whole idea of making [the park] a living tribute to the Black Panthers as well as a community food source."

Nyema Clark, founder and director of Nurturing Roots Farm, said the project has been in the making for nearly eight years. "There's a little bit of bureaucracy we still have to approach [regarding] the naming of the park," explained Clark. "Right now it's still considered a piece of Skyway Park, so hopefully in February, we'll get a unanimous vote through King County Council to name it Black Panther Park."

In the center of the park's grounds is a concrete circle connected to the street by adjacent paths. Engraved in this concrete circle is a black clenched fist, a universal symbol of resistance that emerged in the 1960s from the Black Power movement.

"Surrounding that is going to be all herbs. We decided to do rows of herbs, so it's really easy for people to come in, identify, and 'you-pick,'" explained Harris. "Around that, we'll have raised [garden] beds, and that [is intended] as a space for community to come together."

"Being able to stamp community activism in a space, but also enrich a community — I feel like the Black Panthers did that a lot," said Clark. "We've been working on the project — designing, reiterating the design, pausing to have a couple babies — but we're finally here."

Nurturing Roots is an urban farm and community farming program based in Seattle's South End. The organization's mission is to address food justice issues by cultivating healthy, sustainable, and inclusive food systems. Formerly located in South Beacon Hill, Nurturing Roots is currently seeking a new site in the Seattle area.

"This is our first official park, so it's not something that we're [experts] at, but King County Parks has been really helpful with permitting and knowing which agencies for all the different parts that we needed to contact and negotiate, like getting the water, electrical, all of those pieces," said Clark.

Along with artwork by Glass, the park will showcase murals from local artists, including Myron Curry, J'von Buckley, Shakore Nelson, and Christina Martinez. Walla Walla-based artist Chloe Washington, Philadelphia-based Al-Baseer Holly, bodybuilder and artist Kai Greene, and incarcerated artist Tomas Afeworki will also have murals in the park. Afeworki's mural is of Black Panther Party founding member Assata Shakur, which was completed before her recent death.

Despite anticipating that the park won't open until spring 2026, Clark and Harris said some Skyway residents are already making plans for Black Panther Park.

"Community definitely has reached out. There's a neighbor, Alicia, on the corner. She's like, 'I'm neighborhood watch. I'll watch the park, no problem — whatever happens,'" Clark said.

Construction of the park will continue through winter. Stone Soup Gardens and Nurturing Roots will be calling on Skyway residents to come help make the space beautiful.

"We're done with the contractor/utility side, with the water and electrical. Now we're moving more to community build," said Harris. "We don't have our schedule up yet, but we're going to call on community to be building this. We have neighbors who are raring to go."

When the park is completed, anyone will be welcome to take from its garden. "Each herb bed will have NFC tags, so you can tap it with your phone to see what rosemary does," said Clark.

The art installations will also be interactive. According to Clark, "You'll be able to touch all the murals with your device and pop up a screen showing you about the artist, their inspiration, and who they are."

Regardless of the final vote for the park's name, the Black Panther Party will always be responsible for Skyway Park's community garden.

"Black Panthers inspired me so much, and so much of the work that is done in the federal government right now, they were influencing, although folks don't want to reminisce and give the respect where it's due," said Clark. "This is a place where you can not only learn about it, you can ingest things that are healthy for you. You can see things that create calm. [With all] the noise of the outside world, we wanted to create a sanctuary space where folks could just feel good and reconnect with community."